Chinese Ghost Fables 1 by Yun Ji Read Free Book Online Page A

wind
whirling around, several yards in front of him. He believed that wind was the hanged ghost,
escorting him out of the temple. Four years later, the wind appeared no more. Mr. Nay
assumed that the ghost was released from his misery.
Life is too precious to be wasted. If a human being intentionally terminates himself, the
Almighty will punish him severely.
     
24
A MALICIOUS INTRIGUE
    My grandfather-in-law lived on the east side of the Wai River. His chateau faced the
river. Several years ago, a servant's wife committed suicide and hanged herself on a
pagoda tree. That kind of behavior would have a long-lasting negative impact toward that
location. People considered it "contaminated" by evil spirit, lingering there and prying for a
replacement. From then on, the garden was padlocked and deserted. Not knowing that
tragedy, two new servants sneaked into that tainted place for a secret rendezvous at
midnight. They carefully unlocked the garden doors, walked in and had a date there.
During late at late night, they suddenly heard a noise from outside of the garden.
    The two servants promptly hid themselves behind the doors. Peeping through the
hiatus between the doors, the male servant surprisingly perceived the back of a hanged
ghost, standing on the doorstep, staring at the moon and sighing profoundly. With caution
and alacrity, he moved aside and gestured the young maid to take a look. Without any
preparation, she looked into, observed that otherworldly creature and was flabbergasted.
They were in an embarrassing and even fatal impasse. They dared not to leave the
"contaminated" garden. Making any slight noise could attract and allure that dark creature
for their demise. They knew that they were in grave trouble. As matter of fact, frightened
and speechless, they breathed prudently in order to escape that ghost's detection.
    For some unexplainable reasons, the hanged ghost never turned around and was
uninterested in snatching a fresh soul. Staying in their gestures motionlessly for a while,
both parties were only divided by the garden doors. A dog barked at the otherworldly
creature and many dogs followed suit. Hearing this commotion, servants were awakened
and alerted. They thought that the chateau was intruded and burglarized. Lighting torches
and fetching rods, they eagerly searched the whole ground. Without hesitation, the hanged
ghost quietly merged and vanished into darkness. They eventually spotted two young
servants who were shuddering and trembling. Those two cross-starred lovers tightly held
each other's arms in mortification and humiliation. Their easy virtue was looked down and
they severely jeered, and reprimanded by their seniors.
    The misbehavior was reported to the master. They became a laughingstock of the big
family. Without reservation, some servants mocked them directly. Others met them with a
long side-glance of contempt and derision. And some greeted them with muffled giggles.
The young maid couldn't tolerate those constant and blatant mockeries, was profoundly
ashamed on the verge of a mental breakdown. A few days later, she stole into the garden
and attempted to commit suicide on that pagoda tree. Fortunately, a servant observed and
rescued her. After one week, she secretly attempted to hang herself in the same way at the
same spot again. By some unknown reason, she was saved. She was discharged and
returned to her parents.
    Her uncanny behavior was gossiped about and talked about by others. With zeal and
curiosity, some experienced servants discussed this issue in their leisure time. After a
lengthy exchange of opinions, they eventually comprehended, concurred and reached a
conclusion: It's the evil's trick, which is too wicked to vex even the Almighty. The cunning
hanged ghost deliberately appeared to allure other servants' attention for the exposure of
the young couple's wrongdoing. Furthermore, the dark creature calculated and correctly
projected our reactions. With a few of his clever nudges, we